Clarita’s Filipino Cuisine

I have been to a lot of filipino restaurant and I notice their servings are not that generous. This small restaurant is not one of them. Aside from their food tastes good, the varieties are awesome. I will come back again and will try another dish. I have tried their ginataang langka and the pata tim, pancit, turon.

I feel as if I need to help those foreign to Filipino food… or those who are new to Clarita’s in general. I’ve been noticing lately, more non-​Filipinos coming into the restaurant. which is really good… people stepping outside their comfort zone. This updated review will be a friendly guide to you. Step 1: Grab a tray if you’re eating in and let them know so. Step 2: Tell them how many choices you want. 1 choice, 2 choice, or 3 choice (depending on how many different items you want to get. If its your first time trying Filipino food, the safe choices are: Chicken Adobo (chicken cooked in a vinegar and soy sauce broth), Beef Kaldereta (beef with potatoes, bell peppers and tomato based sauce), or Beef Steak (Beef with Onions.) If you want to be adventurous, try: Laing (taro leaves cooked in coconut milk and some chili peppers,) Monggo (mung beans cooked with a green vegetable like spinach or bittermelon leaves,) or Sisig (Fried pork chopped up and mixed with onions and different things.) Sisig is usually an exotic dish because they typically use parts of the pig’s head and chop it up and mix with onions and a vinegary sauce. but the sisig here at Clarita’s is pretty friendly, I haven’t found/​tasted mysterious animal parts… for the most part.
Other than that, you generally get two scoops of rice and do ask for free soup! Its a sinigang broth, which is a tamarind flavored soup that is so good especially when you have a sore throat. Its sour and savory.
The restaurant doesn’t really have air conditioning and its loud because of the t.v. but other than that… you’d be in and out in less than 30 minutes.
P. S. If they have Turon (the banana lumpia in the beginning of the line) do try it!

So, I ate here before and their menudo did not have any flavor compared to my mothers home cook meal and other times I have had it, now the second time I’ve eaten here I really had no choice because I didn’t want to wait for a while since it was my lunch break and I was running out of time, I feel like I wasted my money here AGAIN! yes, that is my fault. I ordered dinaguan (pigs blood) and pork adobo it was not very good at all either. The meat is dry and the way it’s cooked just doesn’t have enough flavor to satisfy my appetite. Ugh, they need to hire better cooks other than that this place sucks.

Found this pearl randomly on a job out here. Read the reviews of non Filipino folks giving 2 – 3 star and kind of figured they aren’t use to a traditional Turo-​turo style that I’ve been use to since my adolescence.
The lady in front was very sweet and definitely gave me the affectionate Tita treatment. I originally wanted beef steak and calderetta but they were out. Instead I got pork adobo and bagoong pork type dish that I can’t pin point.
The food was great. The bagoong dish definitely suprised me. Whatever it was, it definitely won me over on a 5 star review. Tita was also nice enough to give me a small bowl of singang despite not having what I wanted:)
Pros: classic Filipino turo turo style, good menu, awesome service
Cons: didn’t have exactly what I wanted, a little pricey.
All in all, don’t have a high expection of watered down and westernized Filipino food here. Just a no frills, turo turo style restaurant that your parents probably took you to when you were younger.

It took me a long time to find good authentic Filipino Food near Sunnyvale/​Cupertino.
They make Pancit Palabok only on Fridays, and it’s not like the running kind at Goldlocks. This is the real deal!
I also love their beef steak and regular pancit. It’s never a disappointment when I come here. They also do catering. I sometimes will just order a tray of Pancit Palabok if I can’t wait until Friday.
The only down side is they run out of food quick. So, go there before the lunch and dinner rush because everything will go!
Definitely try them out!

This place is by far one of the best restaurants in the Bay Area. It’s secret and hidden but I love their Halo Halo, and everything is delicious and authentic!!!

All I can say is that this place is just comforting. I go to school in Santa Clara and it’s great to have a Filipino restaurant only 5 minutes away!
They serve their food off a steam table. Usually people point at what they want and it’s accompanied with two scoops of white rice. Greasy, fatty, and always good. It’s my childhood on a plate.
TFC is always playing on their one tv screen. Adds another homey flare to the environment. They also have halo halo if you want a refreshing desert!
Overall 4 stars ! Keep it up !

Came in for lunch saw the typical assortment of food on the steam table. I had some lechon kawali and some beef caldereta with rice. (2 scoops).
The food was OK, good even. The place is small and they have some Filipino variety show on the tv blaring, people seem immune to it.
If I were nearby again and craving Filipino food, I might come back. This was one of the few times I got to sit and enjoy my food without people gawking at me, and I appreciated that.

Panda Express-​bar style «order two» with a side of rice. I know nothing of Filipino food and ordered what looks safe: some kind of thin noodles and beef steak. First taste of noodles: bland, uninteresting. The noodles were clear, I realized, which wasn’t exactly my fave of noodles.
First taste of the «beef steak»: salty and chewy. If it weren’t for my eyes, I may as well have been eating rubber drenched in pints of sweat and flour. The best part of the whole meal was the steamed rice and clean tables. I ate everything for no reason other than the fact that I was hungry. Even my Filipino coworkers claimed that the food was too salty.
I wouldn’t come back here by choice — waste of money and waste of time. This is my first time eating Filipino food and if this is authentic Filipino food as claimed by some reviewers, then this would be the last time I’m eating Filipino food again.

My friend was in the area so I asked him to stop by here. I was craving Filipino food. I got shanghai lumpia so not impressed, they were very thin and I mean very thin and all different sizes. I have never seen them like that. The taste was ok nothing I would get again. I also got pork adobo with steamed rice. The amount of rice was a joke and the adobo needed more flavor IMO. These two items came to a grand total of 13 bucks. Will I go out of my way to eat here again? Probably not. Would I recommend? No sorry but I have had much better.

One of my co-​workers is totally squeamish about food and only eats at like 3 places for lunch. So we dragged them here and made them eat Filipino food. It didn’t go over too well. however I thought the adobo, lumpia, lechon and halo halo were decent. Now when I drive by here I get the urge to buy some stuff to go and leave it in my co-​workers office.

Review is only for Halo Halo. Shaved ice, evaporated milk, with beans, fruits and jellies at the bottom (see picture). I’m glad they served it to us in a wide mouthed ‘goblet’. I hate eating halo halo out of a tall skinny glass (it gets hard to mix and you end up with spillage).
Came with a party of 7 as some were just craving halo halo. Halo halo on a warm day is AWESOME!!! We were all satisfied. It definitely hit the spot!
We can’t speak for the food, but I’m intrigued to come back and get some ‘ulam’ I can pick up on the way home form work to eat with rice at home for dinner.

I’ve gone here a few times when I’m really craving Filipino food but too lazy to go to my Lola’s who lives about an hour away. The food is just ok and service is quick so I’m usually in & out or ordering to go. This is the closest Filipino restaurant to where I live so I occassionally give in to my cravings. I guess I keep hoping that with each visit the food will get better or that I will eventually «acquire» the taste. Sadly, neither is the case…

What can i say? I’m quite easily pleased. Nostalgia, reminiscing the past, i simply loved discovering this little Filipino hole in the wall. I, of course, got my finandene (sp?) and Pork Adobo fix. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Love the south bay for all the variety of ethic cuisine!
Definitely will visit again!

Clarita’s is my favorite place to eat Chicken Adobo! Yummy!!! Love, love love this place for that, and also for their sisig. Absolutely the best. I would highly recommend this place, however, the only criticism that I have is that it is a hit or a miss. They are not consistent with the quantity of food — Sometimes they have it, and sometimes they don’t, and I’m guessing it’s because this is a mom and pop restaurant. So, if you want to eat Chicken Adobo or Sisig, then come exactly at 12pm for lunch, or they may run out.

Food is just ok, nothing to write home about.
SERVICE WAS HORRIBLE. All the staff need to take a customer service lessons.

Clarita’s is so authentically Filipino, it took me back to my childhood that involved my Filipino neighbors and their some awesome parties with tons of greasy food, «punny» accents, and karaōke.
The food was always served with a smile in large foil containers and I was always encouraged to eat more. Usually, I didn’t mind since I enjoyed adobo, pancit, lumpia, and other Filipino dishes. But occasionally, I needed an eating break so I could go in the garage and sing karaōke with the adults. So in between paper plates of greasy goodness, I was off trying to score at least a 90 on Billy Idol’s «Rebel Yell,» Bön Jovi’s «Living On A Prayer,» or Van Halen’s «Jump.»
These days when I visit my parents, the neighbors are still throwing the same style of parties. But in the garage, karaōke has been replaced Rock Band, so you’ll find little kids with greasy fingers playing plastic instruments and the adults singing songs like Jet’s «Are You Gonna Be My Girl?» To my amazement, they score higher than native speakers like me (even with the «berry punny» accent).
Naturally, I felt right at home when I was greeted with a smile and saw a bunch of foil containers filled with the usual Filipino favorites. I felt so comfortable that I ordered a paper plate full of food by pointing with my lips.
The lady behind the counter giggled when I did this. She scooped up the food and said I could sit wherever I wanted (as there was no one else there). Over «der» in the corner, there was a TV turned to some random Filipino channel. All this place needed was a karaōke machine and it would have been 14 all over again. But then again, it’s kind of nice to not have to worry about random erections «popping up» every hour.
Anyway, the lunch special was solid, but not spectacular. It was a bit too salty, even for a fatty like me. But for a big plate with two items and rice, it sure hit the spot for about $ 7. It was so cheap, that I proceeded to make my meal «healthier» by adding some diet Pepsi and some fried banana to go and the meal was still only $ 10.
So if are looking for a caterer or an authentic, cheap, and filling for lunch, be sure to give this place a shot. Just order the lunch special, which I want to rename the «Manny Pacquiao,» since it knocked me out for the rest of the day at work.

I had originally went to Bonchon to try their Chicken but they are closed on Tuesday Boo.
So I figured I would try Claritas out. I rolled to Duane ave, where Claritas is located. Claritas is one of many restaurants located in an aging Strip Mall on Duane Ave.
Claritas is a Filipino Restaurant and its a Hole in the Wall. They serve food from a Steam Table. I went with a 2 Item Plate. I picked the Lech on Kawai and Beef Steak with Steamed Rice. I also got a Bowl of the House Soup.
The Lechon was good, I added a little Garlic Dipping sauce. The Beef Steak was average. The thing I didn’t like was the Beef Steak was sitting in a pool of Oil. Not too appetizing.
I dont think Ill return. In the South Bay, Barrio Fiesta is the place to go for Filipino Food.

Clarita’s is a Filipino’s Filipino restaurant. A place that Filipinos themselves frequent.
It’s not much to look at. But for a first-​generation Filipino immigrant, it’s just what you look for because it’s reminiscent of the kinds of restaurants that you frequented when you were still back home — albeit nicer. No frills, spartan, let’s it’s dishes speak for themselves.
My personal artery-​clogging favorites in the restaurant are: Pork Adobo, Grilled Pork, and Beef steak. A meat-​lover can’t go wrong with these dishes.
Pork Adobo is a slow-​cooked stew that takes a few hours to prepare. Typically the pork is marinated in a mix of soy sauce and vinegar, but practically every region in the Philippines has its own way of preparing this dish. Clarita’s is arguably a Central Luzon variant with additional ingredients that are characteristic of the region — as evidenced by its appetizing color.
Grilled pork (Inihaw na Baboy) is another popular Filipino dish. But sadly, this is not available every day. If you visit on a day that doesn’t have it, ask for the month’s schedule so that you can time your next visit better.
Beef steak is another soy sauce heavy stew. Thin cuts of beef immersed in a chocolate-​brown colored sauce. Don’t forget to mix the sauce with your rice to transform it into a mouth watering congee.
The above three are my mainstays that form at least one of the two dishes that I usually get when I’m there. The second is reserved for periodic specials. .. that I will leave for you to discover on your own.

My client wanted to try out a local spot that she frequents, so she brought me to Clarita’s Filipino Cuisine for some Filipino food.
It’s definitely a hole in the wall in a hard to find strip mall (with a few Filipino grocery stores nearby). The locals definitely flock to it, as most tables were filled (even tough it was a small place). It was like deli/​cafeteria style ordering (turo-​turo style) as you get a tray and they scoop the items onto your plate behind the counter… Sort of like King Egg Roll — Filipino style…
Had the pork adobo and lechon with rice. The lechon was awesome — crisp skin and fatty (like roast pork should be). The pork adobo was flavorful but didn’t taste fresh (meat was a little tough). Overall, food was flavorful but I’ve had better adobo before.
Would I go back? Not on my own accord… But, if my client wants to go again, then I will skip the adobo.
Oh yeah, I also picked up some type of rice cake dessert to sample at home… Not sure of the name, but it’s purple with shaved coconut on top — can’t wait to try it.
Warning: it’s a CASH ONLY establishment.